Look and Listen

Biography

My name is Carolyn Sue "Bollan" Morris. I was born in Valparaiso, a college town located in northwest Indiana. Although we moved away from Valpo while I was still young, I have fond memeories of a friendly, caring community. My Mother, AnnaBelle, was born with the spirit of a gypsy, much like her father. due to this spirit, we moved many times during the first eighteen years of my life. I have wonderful memorries of our adventures together. Mom divorced my Dad when I was four years old, due to the fact that he was a womanizer and a bigamist. Dad was tall and good looking, but still, the women and the bigamy problem sort of took away from that. Mom would then marry "the stepdad" two years later. My sister and I refer to him as "Daddy Dearest". She divorced him when I was thirteen, a blessing really. She never remarried, she found her life was better without a man telling her what to do, and vowed it would never happen again. My sister and I couldn't have agreed more. Mom's desire to relocate took us to many places. Because of this, we were exposed to the diversity in cultures and people along the way. Some children would have a problem attending nine different schools in ten years. I, on the other hand, rather enjoyed it. After living in Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and then back to Indiana, we finally settled in Indianapolis when I was fifteen. When I was seventeen I met John, the man who would become my husband. We were married a year later. He was from Huntington, In.. Though we were married in Indianapolis, we have made our home in Northeast Indiana for many years. We have two grown children and six grandchildren. We now share our home with Dusty Boy and Weezer Girl, our two little adopted Bichons. I love all animals and I cannot tolerate seeing them mistreated in any way. I do however, have a special fondness for dogs. I like to crochet, the doiloes all over the house attest to that. It's a relaxing pastime. I also enjoy re-decorating. I'm constanly painting something. John say's he's afriad to stay in one spot for too long, he has a fear I'll take a paint brush to him. I like change, and could be like Mom when it came to moving. The one constant that keeps me grounded is John. In my writings you will see how true that is. I have also written a series of Childrens Picture Books that I hope to have published this year. I'm still looking for a publisher for them. I am in the process of doing research for a book of fiction that I have started, and can now consentrate on. After completing two non-fictions books, I feel I am ready to move on.

Inspiration

I will admit to being a dreamer. I love to read, and I love to write. I have written poetry since I was twelve years old. It was my way of dealing with situations that I didn't understand. Later, it would be because of the way my life unfolded, poetry was a release. The men I have loved controlled my writing more than I did. If you read my work, you will read my life in verse. I am not proud of all the decisions I have made concerning my life, but I am proud of the depth it gave my poetry. My Mother, Annabelle, was the inspiration for "The Journey, The Dreams, & AnnaBelle", my first published work. It deals with three generations of the Wicker family, this is my mothers family. I am thrilled to have accomplished what I had only dreamed would come to pass. With my promise to Mom that I would complete this book, she gave me the ability to fulfill both of our dreams. Although she has taken me on numerous journeys during my life with her, she had to take her final journey alone. Sadly, she left this world on October 4, 2007, but she will live forever in my heart. Because of the response to my first book, I have now completed the second manuscript. This is a follow-up to the first titled "AnnaBelle's Spirit". It will be in the bookstores the middle of Sept. 2009. Because her life was so entertaining, and because of the characters she came into contact with, writing this has been fun as well as reflective. Along her many journeys she knew politicians, movie stars, sports figures, and race drivers. She lived in San Francisco for a couple of years after I was married. While there, she worked for the DiMaggio family at their restaurant located on Fisherman's Wharf. She was very close to Joey DiMaggio, the nephew of Joe. Joey gave my sister away when she was married in 1970. Having been there, I can say it was great fun. You can understand why I find her life so fascinating. My inspiration continues to be AnnaBelle. Her life was amazing in itself. Her ability to overcome the odds was to be envied. She has left me with nothing but total respect and love for her, and the life we shared together. She was beautiful on the outside as well as the inside. Because of this, I have included numerous photographs in both of my books, along with some of my poetry in the first. Annabelle loved to read the material I wrote, she gave me the confidence to continue folowing my dreams.